Trinity 2, Worcester State 1
Worcester, MA --- In a wildly entertaining matchup, Trinity senior Samuel Wisner (Wayland, MA) hit the game winning tally in the 89th minute to snap a 1-1 tie and lift the Bantams to a 2-1 victory over Worcester State in non-conference men's soccer action this evening.
Trinity (2-0) dominated the opening half of play as they held a 10-5 edge in shots, but they could not take advantage of any of the opportunities that came their way. The Lancer defense was strong, but the Bantams could not capitalize on any of their breakdowns in the first stanza.
In the 17th minute, Trinity had a good chance to score the go-ahead marker on a strike by sophomore Mike Galluzo (Meriden, CT), who was right in front of the net, but his attempt sailed to the left.
Eight minutes into the second half, bantam senior Chris Doran (Wayland, MA) finally saw a hole in the defense and put Trinity up 1-0 on his first goal of the year in the 54th minute on a feed from Wisner.
But it was after Doran's marker that Worcester State flipped a switch and kept the ball on the Bantam's side of the field for much of the final period. Over the next 22 minutes of play, WSC outshot Trinity 6-3 with three shots on the net.
In the final five minutes of the contest, things looked bleak for the Lancers until the 86th minute when they took advantage of one of their four corner kicks of the period. Coming off a corner, senior Miguel Vidal (Grafton, MA) kicked perfect drive in front of the net and classmate Mark Johnson (Woburn, MA) was there to knock in the pass for his first marker of the season.
Trinity, however, tightened up their defense and scored three minutes later on Wisner's second on a sideline pass from senior Jason Kulik (Norwell, MA) for the game-winner.
The Bantams outshot Worcester State 19-15, but the Lancers held a 10-9 edge in the second half. WSC also had a 6-1 advantage in corners.
WSC sophomore keeper Evan Wilga (Dudley, MA) collected nine saves while classmate Grant Schonberg (Mendham, NJ) finished with three stops.
Worcester State (1-5) opens up MASCAC play with Fitchburg State on Saturday at home at 11 AM while Trinity entertains Middlebury in a NESCAC showdown on Saturday at 2.